The finalists for the 2019 Independent Games Festival award ceremony on March 20th have been announced, and they remind me just how joyful a challenge it is to keep up with indie development. Every category is packed with exciting, creative endeavours both complete or still in development - a reminder that 2018 was a great year for games, and 2019 stands to be even better. Now I've just got to keep track of all of them.

Among the headliners for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize are RPS favourites like low-fi groundhog day adventure Minit, the excellent maritime mystery Return Of The Obra Dinn (which Andreas Inderwildi picked apart earlier today) and the bizarre Hypnospace Outlaw, a deep dive into a fictional 90s internet dream-world. Also in the running is virtual voyeur sim Do Not Feed The Monkeys, and the upcoming physics-driven platform roguelike Noita. Every category is full of exciting games, though - check out the full list on the IGF page here, or below.

SEUMAS MCNALLY GRAND PRIZE

Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann)

Opus Magnum (Zachtronics)

Noita (Nolla Games)

Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)

Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)

Honorable Mentions: Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley); Moss (Polyarc); Unavowed (Wadjet Eye Games); Iconoclasts (Joakim Sandberg); Virtual Virtual Reality(Tender Claws); Beat Saber (Beat Games)

EXCELLENCE IN VISUAL ART

Forgotton Anne (ThroughLine Games)

Alto's Odyssey (Team Alto)

Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)

Just Shapes & Beats (Berzerk Studio)

Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley)

Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

Honorable Mentions: Beat Saber (Beat Games); Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Moss (Polyarc); Iconoclasts(Joakim Sandberg); Guildlings (Sirvo Studios); Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric)

EXCELLENCE IN AUDIO

ETHEREAL (Nonsense Arts - Nicolás Recabarren and Tomás Batista)

Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)

Moss (Polyarc)

Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

Alto's Odyssey (Team Alto)

Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric)

Honorable Mentions: Creaks (Amanita Design); Holedown (grapefrukt games); Pikuniku (Sectordub); The Messenger (Sabotage); Distance (Refract Studios); Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Wattam (Funomena)

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN

What the Golf? (Triband)

Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)

Noita (Nolla Games)

Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

Dicey Dungeons (Terry Cavanagh, Chipzel, and Marlowe Dobbe)

Opus Magnum (Zachtronics)

Honorable Mentions: Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Carto (SunheadGames); Black Room (Cassie McQuater); JUMPGRID (Ian MacLarty); Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley);